Dominican Republic

• tropical maritime;
• little seasonal temperature variation;
• seasonal variation in rainfall

agricultural land:

51.5%;

• arable land 16.6%;
• permanent crops 10.1%;
• permanent pasture 24.8%

forest:

40.8%

other:

7.7% (2011 est.)

total:

5.47 cu km/yr (26%/1%/72%)

per capita:

574.2 cu m/yr (2005)

• lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October;
• occasional flooding;
• periodic droughts

• water shortages;
• soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs;
• deforestation

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

noun:

Dominican(s)

adjective:

Dominican

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever (2013)

total number:

180,423

percentage:

10% (2000 est.)

conventional long form:

Dominican Republic

conventional short form:

The Dominican

local long form:

Republica Dominicana

local short form:

La Dominicana

name:

Santo Domingo

geographic coordinates:

18 28 N, 69 54 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• many previous (38 total);
• latest proclaimed 26 January 2010;
• note - the Dominican Republic Government has a practice of promulgating a "new" constitution whenever an amendment is ratified (2013)

• 18 years of age, universal and compulsory;
• married persons regardless of age can vote;
• note - members of the armed forces and national police by law cannot vote

chief of state:

• President Danilo MEDINA Sanchez (since 16 August 2012);
• Vice President Margarita CEDENO DE FERNANDEZ (since 16 August 2012);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Danilo MEDINA Sanchez (since 16 August 2012); Vice President Margarita CEDENO DE FERNANDEZ (since 16 August 2012)

cabinet:

Cabinet nominated by the president

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for consecutive terms);
• election last held on 20 May 2012 (next to be held in 2016)

election results:

• Danilo MEDINA Sanchez elected president;
• percent of vote - Danilo MEDINA Sanchez (PLD) 51.2%, Hipolito MEJIA (PRD) 47%, other 1.8%;
• Margarita CEDENO DE FERNANDEZ (PLD) elected vice president

description:

bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (195 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

• Senate - last held on 16 May 2010 (next to be held in May 2016);
• House of Representatives - last held on 16 May 2010 (next to be held in May 2016);
• note - in order to synchronize presidential, legislative, and local elections for 2016, members elected in 2010 will actually serve six-year terms

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PLD 31, PRSC 1;
• House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PLD 105, PRD 75, PRSC 3

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia (consists of a minimum of 16 magistrates);
• Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 13 judges);
• note - the Constitutional Court was established in 2010 by constitutional amendment

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and a non-governing party congressional representative;
• Supreme Court judges appointed for 7-year terms;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed for 9-year terms

subordinate courts:

• courts of appeal;
• courts of first instance;
• justices of the peace;
• special courts for juvenile, labor, and land cases;
• Contentious Administrative Court for cases filed against the government

• Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]
• Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Miguel VARGAS Maldonado]
• National Progressive Front [Vinicio CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]
• Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Carlos MORALES Troncoso]

• Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania)
• Collective of Popular Organizations or COP
• Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice or FINJUS

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jose Tomas PEREZ (since 23 February 2015)

chancery:

1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-6280

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-8057

consulate(s) general:

Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador James Walter BREWSTER, Jr. (since 9 December 2013)

embassy:

Av. Republica de Colombia

mailing address:

Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500

telephone:

[1] (809) 567-7775

FAX:

[1] (809) 686-7437

• a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue;
• a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by a laurel branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross;
• above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon;
• in the shield a bible is opened to a verse that reads "Y la verdad nos hara libre" (And the truth shall set you free);
• blue stands for liberty, white for salvation, and red for the blood of heroes

name:

"Himno Nacional" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Emilio PRUD'HOMME/Jose REYES

note: adopted 1934; also known as "Quisqueyanos valientes" (Valient Sons of Quisqueye); the anthem never refers to the people as Dominican but rather calls them "Quisqueyanos," a reference to the indigenous name of the island

agriculture:

14.4%

industry:

20.8%

services:

64.7% (2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.9%

highest 10%:

35.8% (2012 est.)

general assessment:

relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile-cellular service with a subscribership of nearly 90 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 1-809;
• landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), Antillas 1, and the Fibralink submarine cables that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

• combination of state-owned and privately owned broadcast media;
• 1 state-owned TV network and a number of private TV networks;
• networks operate repeaters to extend signals throughout country;
• combination of state-owned and privately owned radio stations with more than 300 radio stations operating (2007)

total:

496 km

standard gauge:

354 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

142 km 0.762-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 127

total:

19,705 km

paved:

9,872 km

unpaved:

9,833 km (2002)

country comparison to the world: 110

major seaport(s):

Puerto Haina, Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo

oil terminal(s):

Punta Nizao oil terminal

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Andres LNG terminal (Boca Chica)

• 17-21 years of age for voluntary military service;
• recruits must have completed primary school and be Dominican Republic citizens;
• women may volunteer (2012)

males age 16-49:

2,580,083

females age 16-49:

2,464,698 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,188,358

females age 16-49:

2,090,180 (2010 est.)

male:

100,047

female:

96,302 (2010 est.)

• Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work;
• illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work

stateless persons:

• 210,000 (2014);
• note - a September 2013 Constitutional Court ruling revoked the citizenship of those born after 1929 to immigrants without proper documentation, even though the constitution at the time automatically granted citizenship to children born in the Dominican Republic and the 2010 constitution provides that constitutional provisions cannot be applied retroactively;
• the decision overwhelmingly affected people of Haitian descent whose relatives had come to the Dominican Republic since the 1940s as a cheap source of labor for sugar plantations;
• a May 2014 law passed by the Dominican Congress will regularize the status of those who have birth certificates but will require those without them to prove they were born in the Dominican Republic and to apply for naturalization

• transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe;
• has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada;
• substantial money laundering activity in particular by Colombian narcotics traffickers;
• significant amphetamine consumption (2008)